McLean Museum will be closed two days a week to save cash - after £2m refurbishment

Council bosses are poised to reopen the building - with its new name of the Watt Institution - after an overhaul which has lasted three years.

But the Tele can reveal it will have substantially reduced hours as part of budget cutbacks.

Before it shut for vital repairs in December 2016, the museum and art gallery - home to some of the country's most important collections - was open to the public six days a week.

Critics warn that the cuts to the service will backfire and damage the council's reputation both locally and nationally.

A concerned source told the Tele: "In effect there will be a 42 per cent reduction in service with considerable loss of amenity and access to the public.

"This will adversely affect the access for children and families at core times and reduce considerably the opportunity for tourist groups, researchers and local historians to access the exhibits and archives held in trust by the council.

"This will have considerable reputational damage for the council, both locally and nationally.

"This is despite the considerable outlay in refurbishment which when considered with the intention to reduce the service, is a false economy."

Under the new proposals The McLean Museum, Watt Library, art gallery and Watt Hall will all have the same opening times in future.

Previously the McLean Museum was opened a total of 42 hours a week and the Watt Library 34 hours a week.

Now as part of the new combined service they will be open to the public for only 24 hours a week from now on.

The museum will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, with shorter opening hours on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, from 10am to 4pm.

It will open longer on a Saturday, until 4pm, having previously closed three hours earlier.

This is to meet the agreed £68,000 which was taken from the budget as part of the last round of cuts.

Communities bosses say a two day closure is preferable to shorter opening hours every day, for staff recruitment reasons.

Inverclyde Council regularly receives requests from national and international museums for items in its collections and the McLean is regarded as one of the most important regional museums in the country.

A source said: "The archive is vast and the information held by Inverclyde is the envy of many beyond our shores.

"There is no appreciation of this from council leaders, nor are they aware of the importance and range of what we hold."

It was closed to the public in December 2016 for vital repair work and will open again on November 22, a year later than planned.